This $1.7 billion tech company doesn’t do free lunches — here’s where the CEO tells employees to eat

But Zendesk, a $1.7 billion customer service software company, doesn't do free lunches. Its CEO Mikkel Svane wants his employees to eat at local restaurants.

The reason is simple: he believes it will help support the local businesses around his office, which is in San Francisco's rapidly gentrifying Mid-Market district.

"We wanted our people to get out of the office and support the little ground-floor retail businesses that are so important to a neighborhood," he writes in a blog post.

Svane also shared his favorite restaurants around the area. We stopped by each of them to see what it's all about.

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Zendesk’s HQ is in the Mid-Market district of San Francisco, a downtown area that’s getting gentrified.

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There’s construction going on on the ground floor of its building. Chai Bar by David Rio, one of Mikkel’s favorite spots, is supposed to move in soon.

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Mikkel lists a Vietnamese restaurant called Tu Lan as one of his favorites. It first opened in 1977.

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It’s a tiny place with only a handful of tables available. The place was packed when we stopped by for lunch.

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It turns out there’s also a second floor area. With the number of people packed in, it wasn’t hard to see why.

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This is the second floor area. It was 1:30 p.m. and still full of customers.

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The most popular dish by far was this one called Bun Cha Gio Thit Nu Ong (Pork Kebab/Imperial Roll & Rice Noodle). The person who ordered it told us, “I don’t even know what it’s called. I just come in and order #17.”

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The owner of Tu Lan says he gets about 300 people a day. He says foot traffic and business have improved a lot lately because of gentrification.

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Next on the list is a restaurant called Show Dogs. It’s right across the street from Zendesk’s HQ.

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It’s a rock-and-roll themed hot dog joint.

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Lots of band stickers around.

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A long line formed quickly. Show Dogs has been in business for a little over 5 years.

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This is one of its signature hot dogs called “Italian Pork.” It looked amazing.

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This is its Mahi Mahi sandwich. It looked even better.

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They also sell organic milkshakes and their own ketchup, mustard, and pickles. Beer on tap, too.

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It has a nice little outdoor seating area, too. Perfect for San Francisco’s warm weather.

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Right next to Show Dogs is another one of Svane’s favorites called The Hall.

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The Hall is comprised of 6 different restaurants. It’s almost like an upscale food court.

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The owner of the place says it’s only open temporarily. Once it gets cleared by the city, a 12-story high rise will get built in its place.

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The building used to be occupied by a bunch of peep show shops. But it shut down and remained closed for years, until The Hall opened last September.

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There’s all kinds of cuisines, from Indian and Vietnamese, to Moroccan and American BBQ. Also, there’s an open bar area that serves both beer and wine.

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I tried the crab roll by a seafood joint called Fine & Rare. It was really good!

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I also had some Vietnamese spring rolls by Little Green Cyclo. They came with a bubble tea.

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There’s an outdoor smoker, too! Wish I’d tried some of the BBQ.

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The owner says the whole block has changed dramatically, especially with all the tech and nonprofit organizations moving in the area. There was a constant stream of people coming in and out of the place.

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Next, we went to Farmerbrown, a southern bar/restaurant right around the corner at Market and Mason.

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It opened in 2006 by a couple from North Carolina. The menu was very southern. Fried chicken and jambalaya are supposed to be its best dishes.

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It has small DJ area, too. A live band comes in to play every weekend.

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There weren’t any customers because it was getting ready to open for the night. The bartender told us it just started serving lunch again in December, after suspending it for 7 years, because of all the increased traffic and businesses around the area.

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The last stop was a bar called The Mikkeller. It has Danish roots like Mikkel Svane.

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It’s been open for only two years, but the bartender claims it’s often picked as one of the top 10 bars in the world. Indeed, it has a diverse line up of beer on tap that changes every day.

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There are 42 taps in total, as well as specialty bottles that could cost as much as $75 each.

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There’s a pretty sophisticated beer management system downstairs.

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Even at 3 p.m., it was starting to get crowded. Business has been doing well lately, the bartender tells us: “We do well because of all the tech companies moving here.”